California Tortilla — Restaurant in Middletown Township

My experience prompted me to write to corporate. Below is what I sent:

“Dear California Tortilla Corporate Team,

I am writing to formally express my deep concern and disappointment following a recent visit to one of your franchise locations in Levittown, PA. My wife, niece, and I stopped in for lunch last week, hoping to enjoy a celebratory meal for my niece’s upcoming birthday. What we experienced instead was possibly one of the most disappointing — and alarming — restaurant visits I’ve ever encountered.

From the moment we arrived, it was evident that the location was in disarray: • The air conditioning was not functioning, despite outdoor temperatures reaching into the 90s. • Many of the lights inside were turned off, giving the place a dim, neglected atmosphere. • The restrooms were locked, which was both inconvenient and concerning. • Several kitchen and drink machines were not operational, adding to the overall dysfunction.

The most disturbing issue, however, was the complete disregard for food safety. The “Wall of Flame” hot sauce display, once a fun and quirky part of your brand, was a sad sight. Several of the sauces on display — and still available for use — were expired by over five years. As someone who understands the importance of food safety and public health standards, I found this shocking and unacceptable.

Given my concern, I looked up the local health department’s inspection history for this location and was even more alarmed to see that as recently as June of this year, the franchise had violations related to inadequate refrigeration and unsafe food storage temperatures.

This is especially personal for me, as my wife was pregnant at the time of our visit. We welcomed our baby a week later, thankfully without incident, but I am aware of the very real risk that food contamination can pose to a pregnant woman and unborn child, including the potential for miscarriage or serious health complications.

As a brand that markets itself on freshness and quality, it is your corporate responsibility to ensure your franchisees uphold those standards — not just for branding, but for the health and safety of your customers. This particular franchise appears to be operating well below acceptable standards, and I strongly urge you to investigate this location immediately, both for the safety of the public and the reputation of your company.

I hope you will take this matter seriously and look into both the conditions we experienced and the pattern of violations reported by the local health authorities.”

*Corporate did follow up and is attached in the photos.

My follow up response: “Thank you for your response and for acknowledging the concerns I raised about the Langhorne location. I appreciate that your team is working with the owners and managers to correct the serious issues we encountered.

That said, I must be honest — the offer of $15 in Burrito Bucks, while a kind gesture, doesn’t feel like an adequate or relevant response given the severity of the experience. This location is over an hour away from where we live, so the incentive to visit another location or redeem a small credit isn’t particularly helpful in this case.

More importantly, this wasn’t just a disappointing lunch — it was a major letdown at a place my family and I once truly enjoyed. The Langhorne California Tortilla was somewhere we visited regularly with friends and family. It’s actually the spot where I first fell in love with hot sauces — especially hot honey — and those shared memories made this visit all the more disheartening.

If restoring this location is truly a top priority, I’d respectfully ask that you invite us back once the store has been brought up to corporate standards and you’re confident it reflects the quality your brand stands for. That would go a much longer way in rebuilding trust than a small credit for a future order. If and when that happens, I’d gladly sign up for the Burrito Elito program and give the restaurant another chance — taking my wife and niece again, this time in hopes of a much...

I will NEVER be back. I am not giving any stars...not worth it. Apparently I have to give at least one star for my review to post. Therefore I give it a 1 star, but it doesn't even deserve that. I placed an order for 2 burritos and 1 burrito bowl. When I went in my order was ready. There were only two families in there eating at 6:15 pm on a Sunday. No like waiting at the register like I have always encountered when I came here. I paid for my order, took my bag and went home. Only to find out the 2 of my 3 items were not correct. I called the store and explained the situation, I was asked to hold while she checked with the manager. When she came back she said I had to bring food back or take pictures. Okay...that was weird. I then proceeded to ask if I would get my money back or something in return for my inconvenience. I was told NO. They used to give coupons but they no longer do that. I said I will be right there. Upon return, no one was in the dining room. I again asked the manager, why nothing would be done to compensate me for my time and inconvenience. He proceeded to tell me that he doesn't have the authority to make those decisions. He could give me a small chips and queso for my trouble. Seriously...something that cost $2 - that was an insult!!! I explained that if this is how they intend to do business I would never be back. I said you have a Chipotle opening down the street. You are going to lose all your customers with this kind of customer service. He didn't really seem bothered by what I said. I did feel bad for the woman at the counter whom took my order, my phone call and spoke with me while I waited for my food to be made correctly. She said that she was so embarrassed to even have to say the things she was told to tell me. She was super sweet about the whole thing. Apparently the store is under new ownership as of October 2018. Well they have no idea what they are doing. I would highly recommend that if you had a bad experience here, put up a review...the word of mouth (along with reviews) will go farther than any good review will. Bad publicity is very effective. I will never be back and hope that this establishment will go under very soon....with this customer service, I can imagine it won't be long. HORRIBLE...

Horrible experience here today. Since new owners have taken over this location several years ago, the place hasn’t been the same. I was looking forward to having a relaxing lunch dining in here. However, when I walked in the temperature of the restaurant was just as hot as outside (about 100 degrees). The AC wasn’t on when it’s very hot out and there’s even a heat advisory. I asked the lady if the AC was broken, but she said it wasn’t and didn’t know why it wasn’t working nor did she know how to work it to turn it on. I took my food to go instead due to the horrible conditions in the dining room. No customers dining in at the time, probably due to the extreme hot temperatures.

Another customer was waiting for his food sweating. I also waited about 5 minutes before any staff came to the register to take my order. 2 other workers (a man and a young man) just stood behind the counter ignoring me.

With the AC being turned off, it’s pretty clear the ownership is cheap and doesn’t care about customers being comfortable in their dining room. Also, very horrible working conditions for the workers having to work in a 100 degree hot restaurant.

Thirdly, I inquired about a CalTort promotion going on and the lady that took my order, who is connected to the ownership, had no clue about the CalTort promotion!

Not only does the ownership not care about the well-being of their customers/employees by not running the AC, but also, clearly doesn’t instruct the staff about CalTort promotions.

Lastly, when I got home to eat my food, the burrito fell apart because it wasn’t wrapped properly.

Stay away from this location. If you want a great California Tortilla location to enjoy a meal, the Exton, PA location is excellent.

I’ll be contacting the California Tortilla corporate office in Maryland next week to inform them of this horrible experience. Again, horrible experience and not planning on ever...